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<title>Twenty Years Late by allofuswithwings</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27666823">Twenty Years Late</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/allofuswithwings/pseuds/allofuswithwings'>allofuswithwings</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Muse (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Drama, Light Angst, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:55:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,262</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27666823</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/allofuswithwings/pseuds/allofuswithwings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt comments on Dom’s new hair and the ensuing conversation goes entirely sideways.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Matt Bellamy/Dom Howard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Twenty Years Late</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Imported from Livejournal/Dreamwidth. Originally published March 2015.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Got tired of being King Joffrey, yeah?”</p><p>Dom quirked an eyebrow.</p><p>“What…?”</p><p>Matt gestured toward his head.</p><p>“The hair.  Gone back to normal human being again.”</p><p>Dom rolled his eyes.</p><p>“This coming from you.”</p><p>“What?  Come on, it was ugly.  You know it was.  Made you look like a right slapper.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah.”</p><p>Matt shrugged.</p><p>“Just saying, this is better.”</p><p>One side of Dom’s mouth curled upward.</p><p>“Yeah.  Was feeling a bit goth.”</p><p>Matt snickered.</p><p>“Back to the old days, eh?”</p><p>Dom poked his tongue against the inside of his cheek.</p><p>“Maybe,” he replied.  “That’s what you liked about me in the first place, wasn’t it?”</p><p>“Nah, what are you talking about?  You weren’t goth when I met you.  That was later.”</p><p>Dom bumped him with a shoulder.</p><p>“I don’t mean when we met.  I mean when you <i>liked</i> me.”</p><p>The look Dom gave him from under those low lashes made Matt’s stomach twist.  The words were innocent enough to naïve ears, but Matt knew when Dom was implying something substantially more than what he said.  Problem was, Dom wasn’t supposed to <i>know</i> any of that.</p><p>“I – what?  I pretty much liked you from the start; we were always friends.”</p><p>Matt flicked a glance up to see Dom roll his eyes.</p><p>“Yeah, okay.  We’re gonna do this, are we?  I figured you’d be tired of it, especially now when it doesn’t matter.”</p><p>Matt met his gaze, hands fidgeting at the hem of his shirt.</p><p>“When what doesn’t matter?  The ambiguous shit isn’t helpful.”</p><p>“Alright, if that’s how you want it – no ambiguity.”</p><p>The next moment Dom’s hand was around the back of his neck, pulling him forward into a kiss, determined but largely chaste.  Matt froze, his heart launching into a jackhammer in his chest.</p><p><i>Fuck</i>.</p><p>When Dom broke away, Matt felt his hands ball into fists.  It was stupid to be angry at Dom for this, but he didn’t know what else to do.  None of it was supposed to be happening.  He’d purposely worked <i>against</i> it happening for the last couple of decades because of the damage it might do, and here was Dom undoing all that effort in less than ten seconds.</p><p>He scowled at Dom’s shit-eating grin.</p><p>“Prick.”</p><p> </p><p>Dom snorted.</p><p>“And why is that?  Because I gave you what you wanted?”</p><p>“I didn’t want that – <i>don’t</i> want that.”</p><p>“For fuck’s sake, Matt, come on.  I know I’ve been the dumb blonde, but I’m not <i>that</i> stupid.”</p><p>“Yes, you are,” Matt pouted.</p><p>Dom just threw him a withering, though still amused, look.</p><p>“I’ve seen the way you look at me.  For a really long fucking time I’ve seen it – <i>years</i>, actually.  And I’m saying it’s okay, yeah?”</p><p>Matt’s stomach was churning now, his mind sifting through memories of their life together.  All that time he’d pretended he wasn’t stupidly in love with his best friend, and Dom had been aware of it.  Matt didn’t know whether that made Dom especially considerate, or a complete cunt.</p><p>“Why?  Why is it okay?” Matt demanded to know.</p><p>Dom shrugged, his smile turning softer.</p><p>“It’s always been okay.  I wouldn’t have hung around for two decades otherwise, right?”</p><p>The fact that Dom was so casual about the whole thing just made it infinitely more awful.</p><p>“So why didn’t you say this two decades ago?  Why wait this long to throw me a pity snog?  Do I seem that pathetic now that I need it?”</p><p>Dom sighed and Matt could tell he wanted to roll his eyes again.</p><p>“You aren’t pathetic and it wasn’t out of pity, you twat.”</p><p>“Then what?”</p><p>“You really don’t think I just wanted to?  Because I want you too?  Because I –”  He paused, pressing his lips together for a moment before shaking his head.  “Because I fucking love you, okay?”</p><p>Matt went red.  He hated outright declarations of affection; he was still very English in that way.  And he especially hated them directed at him, because he had no idea how to react.</p><p>“Fuck off.”</p><p>“Cheers for that.  Just what I wanted to hear.”</p><p>“Well I didn’t want to hear it.  Not now I know you’ve let me make an arse of myself for half my life, because you were too piss-scared to say anything.”</p><p>“You think I was scared?  Why the hell would I be scared?  Then again, why are you?”</p><p>“Realising I’m gay for my drummer is pretty fucking terrifying.”</p><p>Dom chuckled at this, and Matt couldn’t help but crack a smile.  He felt the tension drain from the room a little.</p><p>Matt ran a hand over his face, sighing.</p><p>“I don’t understand why you would bring this up now.  And why you didn’t before.  It probably would’ve been easier if we’d sorted this back when we were kids.”</p><p>“Well, I was exaggerating a <i>bit</i>.  I didn’t put everything together twenty years ago.  I guess I sort of had an idea you might be up for some messing around when we were in our early twenties.  But that whole time was crazy and we did a lot of fucked up shit, so I didn’t really think much of it.  Several years later when it was still there, I think I knew.”</p><p>“And you still didn’t say anything.”</p><p>“By that time you had Gaia.  And then Kate, and a kid.  I might be a wanker sometimes, but I don’t deliberately sabotage relationships or families, especially not yours.  You seemed happy – I wasn’t going to fuck that up.”</p><p>“I <i>was</i> happy.  It didn’t seem to stop me wanting other things though.”</p><p>Matt sat down on the couch, putting his face in his hands for a moment.  He exhaled a long breath, shaking his head.  Dom came to sit beside him a moment later.</p><p>“Life’s messy, yeah.  Never seems to work out in the right ways at the right times.”</p><p>Matt looked up at him, his gaze tracking over Dom’s face.</p><p>“And now?  Is now a right time?  Cos at this point, I really can’t fucking tell.”</p><p>Dom shrugged, his smile wider.</p><p>“If you want it to be.  If you want this – <i>us</i>.”</p><p>“It sounds badly cheesy when you say it like that,” Matt replied.</p><p>Dom leaned over and kissed him again, softer than before, his hand on the nape of Matt’s neck.  When he drew away, Matt felt the air gone from his lungs.</p><p>“Yeah, I know,” Dom smirked.  “That’s why you like it.”</p><p>“Fuck you.”</p><p>Dom’s grin turned mischievous.</p><p>“If you like.”</p><p>Matt choked out a laugh, a hand coming up to rub over his mouth.</p><p>“Pervert.”</p><p>“Well, yeah.”</p><p>Though Dom was playing up the sex side of it, Matt knew he’d meant what he’d said earlier.  Which was probably scarier in some ways.  Emotional involvement was much trickier than just physical involvement, in his experience.  Still, he hadn’t pined for this long just to throw away the chance now.</p><p>Matt lifted a hand to Dom’s face, fingertips drawing down the side of his jaw.  Dom’s expression shifted at this, the flippant demeanour replaced by something more earnest, that made Matt’s heart crawl up into his throat again.</p><p>“I don’t think I give a shit whether it’s a right time or not, actually,” he managed to get out.  “I just want it, so fuck it.”</p><p>Dom’s smile was wide as Matt leaned forward to kiss him.  And as the drummer’s mouth opened to let a tongue sweep inside, Matt realised he didn’t really care that it had taken so long to get to this point either.</p><p>Twenty years was a price he was willing to pay for Dom.</p><p>*</p><p></p><p><br/>
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